Produced with technology protect by EP 1 024 234 y US 6 490 236
PRE-INSTALL INSTRUCTIONS
As glue is not needed to lay Designer's floor laminate flooring, it makes the installation process a lot easier and quicker. You just need a saw for the cutting, a lever for fitting the final pieces, a teflon plug and separating wedges (all of which is included in our Installation Kit), the flooring itself and the insulating foam (Underlay), as recommended in our accesories catalogue.

IMPORTANT:
Do not fit this product in areas of high humidity such as: bathrooms, saunas or near sinks, etc. It is essential that the surface onto which you are going to lay the flooring is completely DRY, CLEAN and FLAT.
Check that the surface conditions of the area where you are going to lay the flooring are ideal. Any uneven areas (greater than 3mm/linear metre) should be levelled out with a paste or filler.
 

Eliminate any irregularities which might cause a bad marriage between the board and the base-floor. Before use, leave the packs CLOSED for a period of at least 48 hours at the room temperature of the area where you plan to lay the flooring, in a horizontal position, well away from any walls. Designer's floor can be fitted directly onto the majority of existing floor surfaces (e.g. wooden, PVC, concrete floors, etc). If the area where you are going to lay the flooring is carpetted, this must be taken up before installation, making sure that the surface underneath is level (<3mm/linear metre of unevenness) and dry. It is imperative that the foundation floor is completely dry. Wood based materials should have a maximum relative humidity of 11%. Concrete floors/lightly concreted floors should have a maximum relative humidity max. 2% MC. Plaster based floors should have a maximum of 0.5% MC (Magnesium Content) All types of concrete, light concrete or ceramic tiles need an anti-humidity layer. Use plastic sheeting at least 0.2mm thick.

The sheets should be fitted, overlapping eachother by at least 20cm, or alternatively by at least 10cm when securing the plastic sheets together with 50mm thick adhesive tape; it should be laid so that it rides up the walls by 5-6cm – this will be cut when fitting the skirting board. Finsa offers many different types of underlay in its accessory range which fulfill these levelling-out and insulation functions. Consult the technical sheets of these products to see which one best meets your requirements; other underlays available in the market may not protect against moisture, something which is very important to bear in mind as claims cannot be upheld wherever the recommended underlays have not been used, and installation guidelines strictly followed.

Instructions for Preparing the Base Floor Cement floors The mortar should have a humidity level less than 2% MC, following the Magnesium method. When using artificial drying methods to dry the surface, this can cause the lower layers to retain moisture which will, in time, rise to the surface.
You should allocate a sufficient period of time for drying out before undertaking any work.
The drying time of the base floor will depend on the thickness and atmospheric conditions of the area. As a guide, you can estimate that in conditions of 20ºc and 50% humidity, drying time can be calculated using the following formula: t = 2s2 where “t” is time (in days) and “s” is the thickness of the base floor (in centimetres). If the foundation floor is directly over the subsoil and in a glazed area, exposed to sunshine, we recommend that you fit sheets of 10mm expanded polythene with a density of at least 35kg/m³ in order to protect the product from sudden and successive temperature changes, due to the cooling caused by the humidity of the base-floor and the heat from the sun. Other kinds of base-floor On base-floors where wooden flooring has already been fitted, we recommend that you remove some of the perimeter of the old flooring to allow proper ventillation.

The new flooring should be laid at right angles with the old flooring, and never in the same direction. Whenever you are planning to lay laminate flooring over wooden floor boards, you must leave enough space between the boards and the wall to allow for expansion (following the manufacturer’s recommendations). The laminate flooring must be laid so that the joints between boards are not in the same place as the gaps between the floor boards. ·
Our laminate flooring can be laid directly on top of completely watertight surfaces (tiles, wood, cement, etc). If the surface is not watertight (as in the case of carpet, felt, textiles, etc), you must take up these surfaces and their old adhesives before laying the laminate flooring, as they can be susceptible to holding moisture, leading to rotting or an uneven surface.

Installation instructions for laying laminate flooring over under-floor heating.

1. The under-floor heating system is installed under the base-floor.

2. After 21 days, the mortar should be dry and have a humidity level less than 1.5% MC. If this were greater, you would have to wait until this figure has been acheived.

3. Turn on the heating until you reach a surface temperature of 18°c, which will be maintained for 3 days. Leave the boxes of laminate flooring in the room where you are going to install it for those 3 days.

4. Lay the flooring whilst keeping the surface temperature of the base-floor at 18°c.

5. Once the flooring has been laid, maintain the same temperature for a further 3 days.

6. After that period has passed, increase the temperature gradually by 5°c per day. The temperature of the base-floor should not exceed 28°c (or 65W/m² if it is an electric system).

7. Using large rugs can over-heat the area underneath, which is harmful for the laminate flooring.

8. The ideal temperature of the installation area is ± 20 ºC air temperature, with a relative humidity of between 50-70%. In areas of extreme dryness, we recommend the use of a humidifyer to raise the relative humidity.

9. Adjusting the temperature of the heating system should be done gradually (by 5°c at a time).

NEVER IN A SUDDEN WAY. The flooring and underlay should have a combined thermal resistance less than 0.150m²K/W in order to acheive good heat transmission. Finsa has many different types of underlay available in its accessories range. Check the technical data sheets of these underlays to see which one best suits your requirements. Other underlays available in the market may not be moisture resistant, and could have a low heat transfer, causing the heating system to be inefficient. Claims cannot be upheld wherever the recommended underlays have not been used and the installation guidelines strictly followed.

 

INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS
Before installing the product, it should be conditioned to the room temperature (preferibly between 15°C and 25°C) and humidity (preferibly between 50% and 70%) of the room where you are going to lay the flooring. Leave the boxes CLOSED for at least 48 hours in that room, in a horizontal position, well away from any walls.
 

Before starting to lay the laminate flooring, inspect the product, making sure it has no suface defects (such as: changes in tone, defects in the decor, stains, etc.) and that it has not been damaged during transit. Do not install damaged boards. Claims cannot be upheld whervever visible signs of damage are present, once the product has been installed, in accordance with reguation EN 13329. So if you find damaged boards in the pack, do not lay them.

IMPORTANT:
Use separating wedges to make sure that a 10mm gap is left between the walls and entire perimeter of the flooring. This gap will be hidden once the skirting board and profiles have been fitted, and will give the product the space necessary for expansion and contraction.


In doorways, a 30mm gap should be left (10mm for the width of the product and 10mm for each length) where the expansion profiles will be placed to separate the different rooms. Door frames require special care as 10mm also needs to be removed from the bottom of the frames to allow for expansion. Likewise, when laying the flooring over a large surface area, you should also leave a 30mm expansion gap (10mm for the width and 10mm for each length) every 8 metres lengthways and 5 metres widthways.

Certain pieces of heavy furniture (bookcases, wardrobes, aquariums...) can hinder expansion, either laterally or lengthways. In case of any doubt, we recommend that you leave bigger expansion gaps, to be later covered with a thicker skirting board. In T, L or U shaped rooms, you should also leave expansion gaps in order facilitate the free movement of the product. These spaces will be later covered with expansion profiles (also available in our accesories range).
You should measure the room widthways, across the area where you are intending to fit the flooring, subtracting 2cm for the lateral expansion gaps (10mm each side). You then divide this figure by the width of a board (0.189m) in order to know how many rows of flooring you are going to need. If the number you get is not a whole number, you multiply the numbers after the decimal point by the width of a board (0.189m) in order to get the width of the final board. If this figure is less than 5cm, you would have to cut back the first row of boards by approximately 10cm to have enough width for the final row.
For example: FITTING THE UNDERLAY: follow the recommendations indicated on the different underlays in our catalogue.
If you decide to use another brand of underlay, make sure that you lay it together with 0.2mm polythene film, overlapping the strips of film by 20cm, as stated at the start of the first page of these instructions. The said underlays may not be sound proof or moisture proof, and could have a poor levelling ability.

STEP BY STEP

- UNDERLAY: Place the underlay in strips as required. If you were to install the underlay as one big sheet, it might get damaged or torn by the movement of the laminate flooring and therefore lose its insulating qualities. Remember to lay the underlay with an excess so it rides up the walls by 5cm.


- PREPARATION OF DOOR FRAMES AND MOULDINGS: place a board on top of the underlay (with the decor side facing downwards) next to the door moulding and cut into the moulding with a saw as shown in the image below. Once you have removed that piece from the door frame, you can now fit the flooring under the moulding without any problems, thus leaving an expansion gap which will be hidden by the door moulding.


- ORIENTATION OF THE PIECES: We recommend that you lay the flooring in the same direction as the main source of light, except in the cases already stated.


- FIRST PIECES OF THE FIRST ROW: Start laying the flooring from left to right with the “tongue” facing the wall. Make sure you place the boards 10mm away from both walls. If the wall is an odd shape, the boards should be cut to the outline of the wall. This is easier to do if you lay three rows of boards first, then, after cutting them to the shape of the wall, push them nearer to the wall, maintaining a gap of 10mm between all parts of the wall and the flooring.
 

- LOCK IN THE SHORT END OF THE SECOND BOARD:

Place the short ends of the two boards together (trying to leave them lined up straight), lift the board at an angle of 15-20°, pushing lightly forwards and then downwards so that the board automatically hooks into the adjoining board. Continue this process until the first row is complete.
To place the final piece of the first row, flip the final board over so that the decor is facing downwards with both tongues running parallel to the two walls. Place the 10mm separating wedges between the wall and the board and mark a line where the previous board intersects the final board so it can then be cut to size. If you find this difficult, measure the space for the final board using a tape measure, remembering to subtract the 10mm needed for the expansion gap. When you turn the board over, it should slide into the gap, groove to groove, with the tongue facing the wall.
 

- CUTTING THE BOARDS: Place the boards decor side down and cut with a jigsaw. If you are using a manual saw, use one with small teeth and cut the boards with the decor side facing up.


-FIRST BOARD OF THE SECOND ROW: Use a section of the board you have just cut for the final board of the last row to start the next row. This board must be at least 30cm long. If it is too short, start the row with a new board, cut to 1/3 its usual length. Always make sure that the joints of the first and last boards are staggered by at least 30cm.


- CONTINUE LAYING THE FLOORING:
1) Place the next board flat, parallel to the board of the adjoining row, raise the panel at an angle of approximately 15°, push forwards and downwards lightly and the boards should automatically interlock.
2) Place the short end of the next board opposite the board just installed, push forwards and downwards lightly. Make sure that it is close to the adjoining board,and proceed to lock it together with the previous piece.
3) Lift the board, creating an angle of approximately 15° (along with the previous board of the same row), push lightly forwards and downwards so that the boards lock into the length sides of the previous row.

   

- TO LAY THE FINAL ROW: Measure and cut the board. Leave a 10mm gap with the wall for expansion.

- HOLES FOR PIPES: Measure the diameter of the pipe and make a hole 20mm bigger in diameter. Cut a section with a saw, as shown in the image below, and put the board in place on the floor. Then, lay the cut section in place so it matches up to the other piece like a jigsaw puzzle.


ATTENTION: In some circumstances, it is not possible to lift the boards at an angle so they lock together (for example, underneath door frames or radiators, etc). In such cases, you can fit the pieces together with the boards flat, bearing in mind that you should not directly strike the boards, and making sure that you use the Installation Kit. You should give short, sharp strikes against the installation kit hitting block until the boards lock together, taking care not to damage the laminate, and making sure that the hitting block is in perfect contact with the edge of the laminate flooring. The same should be done on the length side, albeit progressively, starting at one end and working your way along the board.

MAINTENANCE.

-DO NOT varnish, sand, polish, etc. the laminate flooring. The surface is treated in order to avoid deterioration. -Never fix the laminate to the base floor (with glue, nails, screws, etc).
-Fit felt or plastic pads to the feet of all furniture and chairs. -Use chairs with soft wheels that won’t damage the flooring (Type W, in accordance with regulation DIN 68131), or failing that, use a polycarbonate mat to avoid direct contact with the floor. -The use of doormats at exterior door entrances is recommended in order to prevent dirt coming in from the street.
-The ideal conditions for avoiding changes in the board’s dimensions are 50-70% relative humidity and approximately 20°c.

CLEANING.

-Use a broom, vacuum cleaner or completely wrung out mop. If any water is spilt on the flooring, it should be dried immediately. -To eliminate stubborn stains, use slightly dilluted acetone or alcohol for domestic use. Afterwards, clean with water.


-WARNING! Use non-abrasive, Ph neutral detergents. Waxes and other cleaning products and polishes for wooden floors or furniture are not fit for use on laminate flooring.